Power of Emotions
by Angel Wings Rinoa Cathy-chan
Summary: After three years, Hitomi and Van looks back on their adventures together. All seems well, until Hitomi sees a vision and Van sees red skies...
1. Red Vision





	2. Two Worlds, One Key




	3. The Blue Planet

**Power of Emotions**   
by: Angel Wings Rinoa (Cathy-chan)****

**Chapter 3: The Blue Planet**

Atop a high-rise building in Tokyo, Japan stood a man wearing black. The feathers on his wings swayed as the breeze passed them. His bright red eyes scanned the surroundings. On his out-reached hands was a white stone. The stone is not glowing. She is not here, he thought. That young king must be with her. When I find him, I will find the Key. With a swift movement of his navy wings, the man dove down from the building and glided through the air. 

--------- 

"I wonder how this one will look on you." Hitomi looked at the white, shiny shirt and pondered for a while if it would suit Van. She giggled and shook her head. "Nah!"   
Van leaned on a stand and watched while Hitomi asked the clerk about other shirts. She insisted that swords were not needed for walking around Shibuya, but he still felt uncomfortable without it. "Tell me again why we're doing this."   
"You can't expect to walk around with the clothes you're wearing without getting noticed, do you? It's going to be winter soon and it'll get colder."   
"I feel much better with my own clothes."   
"Don't worry, Van, I won't make you wear anything weird." Hitomi took Van to other stores and crowded streets, while stopping once and a while to explain why and how things work in Earth. "We're in a city called Tokyo right   
now. This is an area where there's lots of buildings and recreational stuff to do. Later on," She felt silly sounding like a tour guide, but she thought he looked so confused about the industrial, unfamiliar wonders around Earth.   
Van watched while a stream of people walked to different directions. Some of them wearing purely black and white as they carry black, rectangular objects. Others wore strange, clothes (some are colourful) while they giggled and talked. "All of them are human?" he asked.   
"That's right. There aren't any feline humans or wolfmen around here, either. No guymelefs or airships with floating stones here either. Just a lot of cars, people and a few airplanes. Japan's a very populated area." She looked at her wristwatch; Yukari was fortunate enough get a small break from her college and part-time job. Earlier, she called Hitomi and invited her for lunch at a fast food restaurant. Yukari's going to see me and Van here. What a strange coincidence. Well...now she'll know who I was talking about. Now Hitomi knew why she was feeling dazed and unfocused on anything else but Van. She had been overwhelmingly glad to see him. She was glad to see him walking with her, having a conversation with her and, in a way, she was also glad he was going to meet her best friend.   
After a few more hours of walking around a mall, Hitomi took Van to a small McDonald's restaurant to wait for Yukari. She didn't noticed it before, but when they finally had the time to sit down, she realized that other people were staring at him. _Does_   
_he really look that suspicious?_ she wondered. The strangest part that really caught her attention was that most of the onlookers were teenage girls. _Or maybe he really is that handsome...He does have a kind of face you can stare at for hours. _Like the teenage girls, she also caught herself staring when she saw Van staring back.   
"What is it?" he asked.   
"N-Nothing!" Hitomi felt her cheeks turn tomato red. "...It's just...you...look so different from when I first met you."   
"...You look different too," he answered with a little smile. She suddenly felt absurd about how she thought. For a moment, she thought his answer sounded like "...You look beautiful," by the tone of his voice, but she was certain that cannot be. _Van!?_   
_Saying that!? I really am crazy! _"Yukari should be arriving any minute. She's going to like meeting you," Hitomi said to avert her thoughts to something less provocative.   
Van noticed Hitomi's gaze falling downward to her bag on the table. Her fingers started fidgeting the clasp on the belt. He could tell that she was suddenly feeling uneasy. After a few minutes, he noticed a girl with long, reddish-brown hair dart behind Hitomi. She made a soft giggle and yelled out, "Hitomi!!"   
"Waah!!" Hitomi jumped out of her seat, then turned quickly around. "Yukari! Don't scare me like that!" She gave her friend a humorous slap on the arm as she started laughing with her.   
Yukari excitedly shifted her stare from Van to Hitomi and back. By the way Hitomi's companion looked back at her with a puzzled face, Yukari thought he seemed like a foreigner; or --as Hitomi explained earlier-- from a different planet. "So this is Van! Wow! Are you really from another world?" she blurted out. She continued talking before Van could reply. "I can't believe it! Hitomi's told me all about you. How did you get here, anyway? Did you come here by that strange light? You have Hitomi's pendant too, right?....Hmmm, you don't look anything like Hitomi's type of guys."   
The last comment made Hitomi pinch her ecstatic friend on the arm.   
"Ow!! It's true! He doesn't. I was thinking you like tall guys with long, blonde hair more. But I gotta admit, he's very cute!"   
Hitomi's cheeks turned pink. "If only you knew..." she muttered to herself while thinking of the short, but strong infatuation she had with Allen Schezar.   
Without warning, Van stood up and approached the window looking out on the city. They were being watched. His eyes searched for the dark figure he saw moments ago. It wasn't below nor in front of them. But when he quickly examined the sky, he saw the blurry shadow flash by once again.   
"What's wrong?" Hitomi asked him.   
"Someone's watching..." He snatched Hitomi's hand. "Come on!" He pushed his way through the crowded mall. They stopped in a narrow gap between two buildings. He looked up again. The dark figure was nowhere in sight, but he was certain it hadn't left.   
"It must be him," said Van.   
"Who?"   
"That man who attacked Fanelia."   
"He's here!? How?"   
"I don't know. He had wings when I last saw him. He's up there somewhere." Van knew he would not stand a chance against him if he's only armed with bare fists. The only choice was to hide or flee from the enemy's reach.   
"Hitomi!" Yukari yelled to her friend as she ran. "What is going on? Why did you guys leave like that all of a sudden?"   
Neither Van nor Hitomi gave an answer. A strong premonition came over Hitomi; she was certain it was another prediction. In her mind she saw a dark shadow directly above them. The shadow increased in size as it got closer to them. Something bad's going to happen! I can't let Yukari or anyone else get involved in this, she thought.   
"Yukari, listen to me! Get away from here as fast as you can!" Hitomi warned.   
"W-What? But why...? What in the world is going on!?"   
"I'm sorry, but I can't explain. You'll get involved if you stay."   
Again, Van saw the blurry figure dash by quickly. This time, it was dangerously close. If only I had my sword here we could stand a chance against him! Van thought angrily. He examined their surroundings. The streets were too crowded for them to flee quickly. Hiding themselves into the crowd of people won't help either because that would put innocent people in danger.   
"Van...he's getting closer. I can feel his presence," Hitomi said as she took Yukari's arm. "Go now while you still can, Yukari."   
"I'm going to stay by your side. I don't know what's going on, but it seems like you need some help!" Yukari said.   
Van stood in front of the two girls as a gush of wind suddenly surrounded them. The source of the wind were a pair of strong, dark blue wings plunged towards the three. The enemy showed no expression on his face as his feet touched the ground.   
Hitomi took a step back; she felt the man's sinister eyes bore into her. Despite the strong fear in her heart that warned her of him, she still felt remorse for the man clad in black. She didn't know why his red eyes still reflected a sadness like no other within him. Even as he appeared domineeringly in front of them, her heart ached as she watched his   
eyes.   
"I have been looking for you," the enemy said.   
"...Who are you?" Hitomi asked with a quavering voice.   
"If you wish to call me by a name, it is Blayde." He took a few steps closer. "And you are The Key I've been searching for."   
"The...Key...? Why...Why have you been searching for me?"   
"You impede the plans." Blayde lifted his hands forward. With a blinding light, two jagged swords appeared on them. "There must be no interference."   
_ Plans...?_ Hitomi felt Yukari grip on her sleeve tightly as Blayde approached them. Van showed no fear while Blayde's swords glowed brutally.   
"Why are you resisting? You cannot run from me, nor can you defend yourselves."   
"What plans? Please, there must be some other way than this."   
"Hitomi! You can't be trying to compromise with this lunatic, are you?" Yukari nervously whispered to her.   
Hitomi heard her friend, but gave no reply. She even heard a conscience in her mind trying to convince her about the insanity in her words. Even so, she still felt the urge to try and help Blayde.   
Van, however, was not swayed by any single thought of sympathy for the enemy. Kill or be killed. That was the only kind of logic he plans on using at their critical situation. Any fool could tell what chance of survival Van had against Blayde's two, jagged swords. In spite of that he didn't stand down.   
Meanwhile, other people were starting to notice Blayde's strange attire and weapons. Some stared at him close by while others glanced to his direction. Blayde showed no emotion. He stayed watchful at the three.   
"What is this plan? Isn't there any way we can solve this without fighting?" Hitomi spoke up. Van and Yukari were both shocked that Hitomi still wanted to help a man who obviously wanted to kill them. She noticed a small, but apparent glance of curiosity from the strange, young man.   
Blayde's eyes didn't left them as he reached into a pouch attached to his belt. Just like before, he held the glowing, white stone on his hand. This time he was using it on Hitomi instead of the pendant from Atlantis. Gradually the glow on the pendant   
diminished; just like the pendant Hitomi wasn't the one he was looking for.   
"You are not The Key either," he said monotonously. Swiftly, he turned around. A bright light surrounded him as his wings appeared. With the light, Blayde vanished.   
All three of them stood there for a moment staring at the blank space where he had   
vanished. _What was that!? _Yukari thought, puzzled. Her friend didn't seem as confused as her. Hitomi's green eyes were distant in thought.   
"...Hello?" Yukari waved her hand in front of Hitomi's face.   
No reply.   
Yukari walked over to Van and whispered, "Hey, do you know what's going on with Hitomi?"   
Van shook his head. Even he couldn't tell what was on her mind.   
_I need to know about him. He seemed sad somehow. I wonder what's so special about this Key he's talking about. _Just then, quick flashes of images appeared in her mind. The space around her began to distort, blur and swirl in different directions. They didn't stop until everything turned into darkness. The noises of the people and the streets faded away into different sounds. The strange things she heard then were disturbing--strange noises that were so frightening, it made Hitomi's spine crawl. She warily opened her eyes. Again, she found herself in a different place. This time, she was atop a high cliff overlooking another demolished kingdom in Gaia. She recognized the strange noises she heard earlier as painful screams from the kingdom below.   
"...What is this?" She covered her ears. The more she tried to block out the noises, the louder it became. "Does this have something to do with Blayde...and me?"   
_Yes._   
Hitomi's eyes scanned the area. No one was around, but she swore she heard a reply. "Who's there?"   
_ You must help them, Hitomi._   
_ Your destiny is still pointing towards Gaia._   
_ Don't let them suffer like this._   
There were two, distant voices calling out to her. They both sounded very familiar. A sphere of light descended in front of Hitomi. In the center of the light were two silhouetted figures. One of them had wings, the other held a pinwheel.   
_Hitomi..._   
One of the figures came forward, and at last, Hitomi could see the woman's face. "...Grandmother? Is that you?"   
The apparition of Hitomi's grandmother showed no smile upon her face. Droplets of tears hovered around her. The beautifully, decorated kimono she once wore was now dark and faded.   
The one with wings also hovered forward. Like Hitomi's grandmother, she was also crying. Her clothes were as dark as her sorrow.   
"You're...Van's mother..."   
_ Don't let them destroy The Key._   
"What is The Key!? What's so special about it?"   
_ Go back, child. Back to the world of war..._   
The two figures quickly evanesced. Nothing was left. Not even the destroyed kingdom or the cliff. Darkness was all that surrounded her until her eyes opened back to reality. Van and Yukari were both kneeling beside her as she lay on the ground.   
"Are you all right?" Van asked.   
Slowly Hitomi raised herself on her knees.   
"Thank goodness you're okay!" Yukari exclaimed. "I was so worried!"   
Yukari's words didn't comfort the feelings of confusion and dejection lurking inside Hitomi's heart. She was certain that she saw her grandmother and the queen of Fanelia in her vision. There were no more doubts of the future that lay ahead for Gaia, and the people she knew and loved there.   
"Van...We have to go back to Gaia."   
Van paused for a moment in shock. "What...?"   
Yukari gasped and said, "Gaia!? You can't be serious!"   
"But I am. I have to go back."   
"You'll be in danger there! I can't let you do that," Van protested.   
"Van," Hitomi raised her eyes to his. "I've been wanting to tell you...no! Warn you of something that might happen to you in the future!....You might get killed, Van! I saw a vision where Fanelia got destroyed and..." Hitomi closed her eyes. The images in her mind started forming, making it hard for her to finish her warning.   
"Fanelia did get attacked, but--"   
"It's a different one! It's going to happen if the enemy isn't stopped."   
"Hitomi, we're lucky that guy let us go alive! Don't be thinking about leaving and going to a dangerous place again!" Yukari told her.   
"I'm sorry, Yukari, but my grandmother told me to help them."   
"Your grandmother!?" Yukari yelled in shock.   
Hitomi nodded, then stood up. "I've made up my mind. I'm going!"   
"Hitomi, you're staying here," Van seriously said to her.   
"I don't care what either of you say to me. I'm going whether you like it or not."   
Van was lost for words. He knew that danger had the tendency to follow Hitomi --or vice versa-- but she had clearly decided to help despite that fact that she would be risking her life. "There's no way I will let you put yourself in danger like this," he said.   
"Don't worry. This is my own decision. I need to know about The Key and the guy who attacked us earlier." She paused and said, "...Your mother was in my vision too, Van. It must be something really important if I'm seeing her and my grandmother again."   
"I guess you're right, but..."   
Hitomi smiled softly and surprised Van by touching his face. "I'll be just fine."   
Yukari sighed and said, "You know...your mother's going to be awfully worried about you if she ever finds out."   
"I know...I'll have to tell her the truth eventually," Hitomi said.   
Yukari gave her a pat on the shoulder, "Well...I can't let you do that on your own again!"   
"Huh!?"   
"To tell you the truth, I've been so curious to where you were when you disappeared. I've been wanting to see what you were up to, and to see for myself about the strange story you told me so..."   
Hitomi's eyes were wide open, "You...can't be thinking of..."   
"Yup! That's right."   
"No! You can't! This isn't just some simple trip, Yukari. This is for real!"   
"Course I know that, silly! But I still want to go. It sounds like this world is in really bad trouble, and you seem eager to help them so much. I want to know why. That's why I'm going with you."   
"Yukari..." Great...Now I know how Van feels right about now, she thought. I can't put her in danger because of me, but she seemed willing to go no matter what. I can't argue with her all day. I'm wasting time as I stand here. "I guess you can go...but don't say I didn't warn you."   
"Okay!"   
Van scowled and crossed his arms. _She hasn't changed a bit, _he thought. _As always I can't convince her to stay away from harm. _Somehow he knew that Hitomi coming back to Gaia with him was inevitable. Nonetheless, he planned to make sure they won't get harmed. He was still frowning as he said, "...We can go back there with Escaflowne. It's not far from here."   
"Okay. Thank you, Van," Hitomi responded. "Are you sure about this, Yukari?"   
"Absolutely! I bet Amano's not going to find out about it anyway. He'll just think I'm busy with college work or something." 

------------ 

Together with Yukari, Hitomi quietly crept into her house to gather a few needed belongings. Deep inside she wanted to tell her mother and father where she was going, but if she did, they certainly won't let her leave. Before packing her duffel bag with clothes, she wrote a letter to her parents, and taped it on a wall on top of her desk. It read:   


> To Mom and Dad,
> 
> If you're reading this, that means you know I'm   
missing. I'm not really missing and I'll be fine. I'm sorry I   
haven't told you about it. I know you would've done   
everything to keep me away, but I have to go. I can't really   
explain to you where I'm going, but all I can say is   
grandmother went there too. Don't worry about me. This is   
something I need to take care of.
> 
> Hitomi

  
"Lets go, Hitomi," Yukari called to her.   
"Someday I'll tell you about Gaia. Mom,...Dad," she whispered to the letter.   
Quietly the two girls climbed down a tree. Van told them to meet him inside a forest not far from the street Hitomi lived in. When they got there, Yukari shouted out in astonishment, "That's Escaflowne!?!"   
"Sssshhh! Someone might here us," Hitomi said.   
"Wuh...What is it again?" she asked in a meek voice.   
"It's called a guymelef," Van answered.   
"It looks like a dragon!" While Yukari was still ogling at the magnificent armor in awe, Hitomi pulled her to the top of the guymelef.   
The wings of Escaflowne began to move, and they were lifted to the air above the small town. While placing the pendant onto his palm, Van concentrated his thoughts to his homeland. A pillar of light came unto them. The light took them to the world of Gaia. Tatakai no sekai e (To a world of war). 

To be continued... 

**Author's Note: **Finally!! I'm very sorry it took me such a long time to finish the third chapter. You gotta hate it when writer's block appears in your head. And that's right! The mysterious enemy finally has a name. I thought it might be interesting if Yukari went with them to Gaia. Of course, that also had to make sense. Literally, "tatakai no sekai" is   
translated as "world of fighting", but I think in the English version they translated it as "world of war". I have no idea why I chose McDonald's but I'm sure they have that fast food restaurant in Japan too. Shibuya is a small part in Japan where there's malls and stores, I've heard. In the Japanese version --after Hitomi, Van and Merle escaped from   
Asturia-- Hitomi dreams of being with Allen in Shibuya. (And yeah, they cut almost every part of that and the song "Tomodachi" in the English version.) 


	4. Darkness

Untitled **Power of Emotions**   
**by: Cathy-chan**

**Chapter 4: Darkness**

-------------   
**Part I: Fanelia, Gaia**   
------------- 

The sun was setting when Van, Hitomi and Yukari arrived in Gaia. The skies appeared darker than usual. What normally was an orange hue during sunset was replaced by a dark blue -almost black- colour.   
Yukari wrapped her arms in front of her nervously as loud cries from creatures and dragons could be heard afar. "...What's going on in this place?" she asked.   
"The animals have been acting like that ever since the sky turned black. Strange things have been happening lately," Van stated to the two. Van settled Escaflowne at the center grounds of the castle. Van could already see Mr. Avean's worried face as he came forward.   
"Lord Van!!!" he bellowed out in sheer joy and relief. "We were so worried we lost you, milord!" He paused to look at the two, strangely dressed young women. "Who're they?"   
Yukari and Hitomi climbed out from the guymelef to the ground. Yukari speechlessly gaped at castle and the blue planet with its moon on the sky.   
"This is Hitomi Kanzaki from the Mystic Moon," Van replied.   
"THE MYSTIC MOON!?!" Mr. Avean screamed.   
Hitomi was not familiar with Fanelia's new advisor. He was obviously a very nervous man with a very loud voice. She approached him, then gestured to the other girl. "She's Yukari Uchida. She's also from the Mystic Moon."   
"Ah...t-t-that would explain the...s-strange clothing you h-have..." he stuttered between strong gasps of air. "T-Tell me, milord, what brings them to Fanelia?"   
Van stood beside his advisor and said to him in a serious voice, "Tell all of the samurai and soldiers to be on alert for an attack."   
"An attack!? They're going to attack us again!?"   
"It's possible. We must warn other countries about the enemy as well."   
"Oh...no...!" He slapped his cheeks with both hands and shook his head nervously. He stared at Yukari and Hitomi, then walked back and forth while trying to contain his panic.   
"Who is he?" Hitomi whispered to Van.   
"He's Fanelia's advisor. He's also one of the four samurai."   
Hitomi stared at Mr. Avean in amazement. "He is?"   
Van nodded.   
"He sure doesn't seem like someone who can be a samurai."   
"I know, but we can trust him."   
"It's nice to see you again, Hitomi," a tall man with long, blond hair spoke up. There was a kind smile on his handsome, brave face.   
"Allen, it's nice to see you too," Hitomi said with a smile.   
Allen saw another girl beside her wearing foreign clothes. "I see you've brought someone along with you."   
"I had no choice. She insisted," she said humorously. "Allen, this is Yukari."   
"Hi, Allen..." Yukari shyly bowed to him.   
Allen came up to her and bowed. "I'm Allen Schezar. Nice to meet you."   
"Brother, who're these people?" A young woman with a gentle voice said. The young woman had short and curly, blond hair. She appeared to be the same age as Hitomi. She politely greeted them with a smile.   
"Celena, this is Yukari and Hitomi," Allen introduced them to her.   
"Hitomi? Where have I heard that name before. Have we met, Hitomi?"   
"Uh...I don't think so..." She looked familiar to her somehow. Her face reminded her of a demented man she had met two years ago, but she was certain that cannot be.   
"We have much to talk about. For one thing, I'd like to know about this enemy. Perhaps gaining knowledge of the enemy will help us deal with the black sky," Allen said to all of them.   
"So do I. It's best to know what we're dealing against," Van said. 

-------------   
**Part II: Japan, Earth**   
------------- 

"Mom! Come quick!" Shiro yelled from the upstairs level.   
Shiro's parents came running up the stairs to Hitomi's bedroom. They found Shiro in their daughter's room. He was holding a note on his hand.   
"What is it, Shiro? Where's your sister?" his mother asked worriedly.   
He didn't answer, he looked straight into her eyes, and gave her a small sheet of paper he found above Hitomi's desk.   
His mother read the words slowly. "Hitomi..." Her face was as pale as her apron when she handed the note to her husband.   
He had the same response after reading it. "Where had she gone off to?"   
"You don't suppose Hitomi ran off with that guy! Maybe she eloped or something," Shiro suggested to them.   
"You mean that young man from Philippines? You mean to tell me they ran off to that country? We have to get her right away! What was she thinking? This doesn't seem like something she'd do..." Hitomi's father asked more unanswered questions to them nervously without stopping to breath.   
His wife gently touched him on the arm. She shook her head. "She's not there."   
"...Then where?"   
She held the note on her hands and looked up to the sky. The moon's bright light shone with the stars as it hid a far away planet not seen with Earth's eyes. A feeling in her heart told her to believe in Hitomi's courage. "Come back safely, Hitomi..." she whispered. 

-------------   
**Part III: Fanelia, Gaia**   
------------- 

It was during late evening just after Hitomi had fully explained the situation. Both Allen and Mr. Avean were both stunned to realize that the enemy had the ability to transport himself to the Mystic Moon. They were even more shocked when Hitomi told all of them that she had doubts of Blayde being a dangerous foe.   
Fanelia's advisor sat ridged on his seat when he said, "What else can he be?...He tried destroying Fanelia and other countries."   
"I know that, but..." Hitomi couldn't explain. She, herself, didn't have a rationale for her thinking. Only a small hint of sorrow in Blayde's eyes told her of something no one, but her could see.   
"Unless you find a reason why he's not the enemy, we're still going to regard him as a big threat. We have to make sure he doesn't get his hands on any more countries. I've already dispatched a message to Asturia. King Aston said he'll inform other ally countries right away." Allen stood up to stretch his tired legs. "I think all of us can use a little rest right about now."   
Yukari yawned and said, "Yeah, you're right. Are you coming, Hitomi?"   
Without looking back, Hitomi said, "No, go on ahead. I don't feel like sleeping." She watched while Mr. Avean led Yukari and Allen to the guest bedchambers along the hall. Hitomi was about to walk away when she realized that Van didn't follow the rest of them. He was on the balcony adjoining the room.   
"Don't you want to take a rest, Van?" she asked as she approached him.   
He didn't react to her question. His arms were leaning on the railing as he looked at the sword on his hands. As if in a trance, he stared at the triangular symbol of Fanelia on the sword. While the moonlight cast reflections on the metallic symbol, his memory drifted back to his childhood. A time when his mother and bother were still alive. He remembered them laughing and talking to him. The memories were joyous, but in them were feelings of sadness for something irredeemable.   
Van looked up when he finally heard Hitomi's voice.   
"Are you all right?" she asked him softly.   
"I'm fine. It's nothing," he said, trying to sound convincing. "You should go to bed now. It's late."   
Hitomi's gaze drifted to the blue planet on the sky. "I can't sleep. If I sleep, I'm afraid I might see those visions in my dreams again...," she added sardonically, "It's just like old times, huh?"   
He could see her green eyes looking down at her hands. She closed her eyes, trying her best to stop the visions of the future to resurface in her mind.   
A false, soft laugh escaped her mouth. It took her an effort to look back at Van with a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I just feel kind of stupid right now. Aren't I stupid? To think...I actually want to help someone who wants to kill me and anyone else in his way....To think I haven't told my parents about this place...and wishing that I did. It's ridiculous to wish that Mom and Dad would be here right now to comfort me. It's absurd to think that I wish my grandmother is still alive to help me out. I'm so--"   
Van pulled her close and embraced her gently.   
"...stupid..." she finished.   
"You're not stupid. Everything will be fine, Hitomi. I promise it'll get better."   
"How!? I'm so confused, Van! All of it is so confusing right now. I want to help someone, but I bet it's impossible. I miss my parents, but it was my choice in the first place to leave. I see horrible visions, but I don't know what to make of them."   
"I understand how you feel," he said while running his hands through her hair. "I don't know what to make of things either. Everyone's relying on me to be the best king, and decide what's best for an entire kingdom. There used to be a time when I thought my mother and brother will always be there with me to help me out. Now that they're gone, I feel like I'm screwing up somehow. Sometimes, I feel like every choice I made is wrong."   
"No! You're a great king, Van! I know you've done the best for this kingdom. I know how much hardship you had to go through to fight for it and rebuild it. It's not your fault it's this way." Hitomi looked up to him. "You've always known what to do..." she laughed tenderly. "...even if it gets you into a lot of trouble."   
"Maybe...if you were here with me...it'd be different..." he said thoughtfully.   
"Van...!" She wasn't sure why his words startled her. Maybe it was the way he said it, or the emotions in his eyes that implied something else in what he said.   
Van hesitated when he was about to say something. He took a few steps back and said, "..It's best that you get some rest." He was about to walk away when he felt Hitomi's hand brush away his long, black bangs to reveal his left eye.   
For a long moment, they stood in front of each other without any words spoken. Hitomi's hands lightly touched his lips. "Can we stay close together...And be here with me?" Hitomi's simple question startled him.   
Van smiled back as he leaned closer to her. With a gentle embrace, their lips touched for the first time. It was a kiss left untouched for three years when they were apart. A kiss that, without words, proved that they kept their promise. A promise that they would always be together.   
Even through a hardship they were about to face. 

------------- 

Deep in the darkness of Hitomi's slumber came another ominous vision. Total blackness surrounded her. There was nothing in sight, but in the distant shadows, she could hear faint whispers calling out echoing words.   
"Who's there?" she glanced at every direction. No one was there.   
_ The Sacrifice..._   
_ The One..._   
_ The Key..._   
The three words kept repeating simultaneously. Each one louder than the last.   
"I...don't understand!" she screamed out. She asked the voices questions. Even if they did know what they meant by The Sacrifice, The One and The Key, they didn't give any answers.   
They only repeated the same words over and over while she saw more images of Fanelia's demise, its king's death and Gaia's nations falling into chaos. The images and words swarmed the dark space around her, until everything abruptly stopped.   
Hitomi awoke with cold sweat running down her trembling face. She felt as if the reoccuring words and images in her vision somehow connected into one thought. _What does it all mean? I have figure this out before it's too late._   
Just then she heard loud knocking coming from the bedchamber's door. "Hey, Hitomi! You in there? Come outside. Quickly!" Yukari shouted.   
"Oh, okay. I'm coming," Hitomi answered back. She changed into her casual clothes, then she located her friends outside at the castle's main courtyard. All of the people turned to look at Hitomi as she walked towards the center where Van, Allen and the four samurai gathered in a tight circle. _What's going on?_ Hitomi wondered.   
"T-There she is!!" a man shouted hysterically as he came out from the circle of people. The woman behind him seemed to be the wife of the man. She held a fragile, infant girl tightly in her arms. The two of them stared at Hitomi with fear, anger and disgust in their eyes.   
"She's the one! She's going to destroy us! It's what she came here to do!" the man spoke. One of the samurai stopped him before he could strike Hitomi. "The one from the Mystic Moon. Death surrounds her...! Death surrounds her...!" he yelled angrily as the samurai pushed him away.   
"My wife and I know 'tis true, milord," the man's wife said to Van. "Since she came, the clouds have warped into an eerie colour; the animals outside started howling and crying out louder than usual...And my daughter has fallen ill! Why do you think there has been disasters in other countries!?" Murmuring could be heard in the huddled crowd after she spoke. It was obvious that the woman was telling the truth for the infant girl in her arms was frightenningly white. Her breath was unsteady and rough.   
"Surely there is no proof that Ms. Kanzaki could be causing all of this," Mr. Avean interjected. "The attacks on the other countries began before she came to Gaia."   
The man came forward and said, "Haven't you forgotten about The Curse!? I heard the queen was a Draconian. According to the old scrolls, their clan was cursed! King Goau died, Lord Folken disappeared, Fanelia got destroyed, and now the strange omens! This is a sign! We must protect Fanelia from any harm."   
"Those are superstitions! The Draconians have disappeared into history. I don't see what all of that have to do with Hitomi," Allen argued.   
"My father...was a scholar and researcher of the old scrolls," the wife said. "Lord Van, I believe you've met him. He wanted to warn you about his discoveries."   
Van recalled the wounded old man he met before Blayde's attack. "He told me about something called The Key. And about Blood Skies..."   
"Yes, that's him," she bowed her head sadly. "Everyone thought he was crazy because of his complete divotion to archeological studies, but throughout his entire life he had studied the entire history of this planet. He told me, before he went to you, about a prophecy he found during his research. Everything that has happen so far seem to fit the exact descriptions written in the scripture."   
"What do you mean? The strange sky, the appearance of the enemy and Hitomi?" Allen asked.   
She nodded. She took out an old piece of paper in her pocket and read it aloud. 

>   
"'A Red Vision will appear,   
And from the Blue Planet   
The One will come.   
With her, a second.   
From The One,   
Darkness will overcome Gaia,   
The Sacrifice will follow.   
With The One,   
Fate's Death will conquer all...'"

  
Silence swept through the citizens of Fanelia afterwards. It was as if the silence around them was proof that everyone believed the prophecy to be true. All had come true according from the sequence of the scripture.   
Hitomi's hands were shaking violently as she remembered her latest vision in her sleep. One by one, pieces of the enigma were revealing themselves. But with the answers came consequences greater than Hitomi, or anyone else in Gaia, ever wanted to receive. 

To be continued... 

**Author's Note:** Man, that took me some time to finish, ne? Sorry if it took so long for me to post this up. Like the short poem in the end? I notice some novels (especially fantasy ones) have poems somewhere in the story to highlight some kind of main conflict (Notice parts of the poem have almost all of the chapters' titles in it. Gee, I wonder what's going to be the title of the next one? ^.^) I was kind of improvising as I went along with this, and I wanted to make sure the plotline links together. Hehehe, I always seem to have some kind of cliffhanger in the end of my chapters. You're just going to have to see how this works out and how I'll end it. Personally, I don't know myself. Anyway, constructive criticism, comments and any other nifty stuff are much appreciated! Thank you very much again for reading this! 


	5. Curse

**Power of Emotions**  
by: Cathy-chan  
  
****Chapter 5: Curse  
  
A tension drifted in the air as more of the townspeople became restless. At first, they were yelling out questions and worried comments. Then after a few minutes, it escalated to louder shouting and pushing. Mr. Avean did his duty by protecting Van and the others while they made their way to the interior of the castle. Outside they could see the man beside his wife carrying their ill child persuading the people of Fanelia to take matters into their own hands against The One and her Curse. It took hours until the mass became less aggressive, and started minding their own businesses. Like the dark clouds suffocating the skies above, it was as if the worries and uneasiness wrapped itself around the entire building. It seemed to loom over Hitomi the most for she didn't say a word through morning and noon.  
Quietly Hitomi left during lunch to wander through the garden to think. Because of the eerie darkness, the strange black sky, and the harsh, blowing winds plaguing the planet, she was certain that no one would dare walk through a garden that afternoon; except someone who wanted to be completely alone, like herself. A part of her screamed out that it couldn't be true. She didn't believe in curses, and she certainly hadn't hurt anyone in her life before. Even so, a thought within her cried out that she could be doing worse to Gaia, rather than good. She had been warned before of consequences to strong emotions. Perhaps believing that a cold man such as Blayde would someday turn good brought the disasters to Fanelia. She was surprised to see that somehow her feet carried her to the resting place of Goau, Varie and Folken. While staring at the large monument above their graves, she suddenly thought of Folken's last hour against Donkirk. His last sacrifice for redemption that cost him his life.  
"Maybe seeing how kind you and Naria were made me want to believe that Blayde can be a good person too," she whispered to his grave. "Or maybe it's just a ridiculous idea that's probably not going to happen...Is it true? Will I really bring destruction to this planet?"  
As if it was an answer, the strong winds gradually died down to a soft breeze. The warm wind circled itself around the graveyard until it lifted up into the sky once again. For one brief moment, she felt hope rising from the breeze into her heart, but just like her hope for Blayde, it flew away into the harsh skies above. While her eyes gazed at the blackened sky, another vision violently pulled her into the depths of her dreams into a long ago kingdom destroyed. The sound of echoing footsteps and numerous conversations traveled by her. Slowly and cautiously, Hitomi opened her eyes. She was floating inside a large, hallway with white pillars holding the roof on one side, and a great wall on the other. Pass the pillars, a beautiful scenery of trees and birds singing could be seen outside. Below her were two winged people walking together while they argued. One of them was a woman dressed in light lavender. She had the most beautiful bluish white hair and purple eyes. The man beside her looked oddly familiar. He had the same short hairstyle and eyes as Blayde's, only his eyes weren't so cold and menacing. The man's eyes were kind and filled with wisdom beyond his liable age. He wore spectacles, and carried a book with strange writing on it.  
"This will work! Soon we will all be more powerful than anything in this world!" the young man said excitedly at the woman walking beside him.  
The woman's white wings ruffled softly as she raised her hand to her shaking head. "Andreus, we've been over this before. Do you really expect something good will happen if you alchemists try to play God? Can you imagine what kind of power a machine that...that can--"  
"--turn emotions and thoughts into power," he finished for her.  
"Yes, a machine that can turn emotions into power. Don't you think you're taking it a bit too far?" she asked him worriedly.  
"No, this is a great breakthrough for our technology! Imagine what we can accomplish with it, Laria. By tomorrow, Atlantis will become more glorious than it already is! Not only can we fly, but maybe soon....we'll be able to explore what's beyond this planet into the stars!"  
Laria's reaction was not as eager and cheerful as his. She stopped walking, and lowered her gaze at the ground.  
Gently, Andreus placed his hands on her shoulders. "This will not only benefit the alchemists. When this works, we'll be able to cure illnesses and restore the plants and animals with a single thought....maybe even achieve immortality. A perfect Utopia! And after this, I promise we'll be together. I'm doing this for you too, Laria. I want you to be with me forever."  
Andreus' smile comforted her doubts. She smiled back while they embraced.  
The image of the beautiful scene before Hitomi shattered into pieces to form into a scene of screaming, fire and destruction. Once again, she saw the burning of Atlantis, but this time, she was beside Andreus kneeling, and leaning his head low on the ground. She could hear him muttering and crying while his whole body shook. Hitomi could understand his muttering when she kneeled down beside him.  
"...What have I done?! Laria...! I'm so sorry!...I...was wrong...Strong emotions....they should be stopped! If only I knew how to control such an unstable element such as The Key...!" While trembling, he raised his head up to watch his loved ones and his nation turn into nothing but collapsed and burned buildings. By a strange twist of fate, he had scratches and a few broken bones, but he was still alive afterwards. To him, it seemed that he was the only one alive in the entire planet.  
"How sad. Is this what happened to Blayde?" Hitomi whispered to herself. "So...this is why he's turned against the world. But I still don't understand what this have to do with what's happening now."  
The destroyed kingdom and Blayde vanished before her eyes. She was inside Fanelia's castle with dead people lying on the ground. Amidst the bodies, Van was fighting against Blayde at the center. Close by, she saw herself with a look of utter terror on her face. Loud clashes of metal resonated throughout the room as their blades collided into each other. With a lot of effort Van was able to make a cut on left Bladye's arm. On his left hand, he dropped his sword from the pain. Just when Van raised his weapon aimed at his enemy, Hitomi saw herself come in between them. Unlike the noise of their swords, her voice were hard to hear and the words were indecipherable. Hitomi's words were able to coax Van into lowering his sword. But her attempt to stop the fight only proved futile. While Hitomi was blocking Van, Blade quietly picked up his heavy sword on the ground.  
For a second Hitomi thought she was going to see her own death as Blayde swung his weapon diagonally at the girl in front of him. But soon she found that it wasn't her death she was beholding, it was Van's. As the memory of her first ominous vision appeared, she now realized the scene before her was connected to it. "No!! I don't want to see!" Hitomi covered her eyes with her hands. She knew the outcome of the vision, but she wanted to believe that it would not happen. Not only that, she didn't want to believe the dark thought that lingered in her mind repeatedly. Her love for Van could surpass any kind of peril or obstacle; even if they were worlds apart. Yet it was clear in the vision who was to blame for his death. She kept her eyes shut as she heard her own voice scream, and the sound of something heavy and sharp cut through, then slam hard on the ground.  
  
---------------  
  
"Hitomi! Hitomi! Hey!" Yukari repeatedly shook Hitomi's shoulder. "Wake up!"  
Hitomi screamed, and raised herself up quickly. Hitomi stared at her hands blankly as it shook from fright. Cold sweat dripped from her face to her pale hands. She tried desperately not to let tears fall from her eyes, but it only made her body shake more violently than before.  
Yukari knelt beside her. She was still shocked from Hitomi suddenly getting up, but she was more concerned about her friend. Of all the years that Yukari had known Hitomi, she had never her in such a horrible state. After a few more minutes, Yukari guided Hitomi inside to a bedchamber.  
"Here. Maybe it'll help if you lie down and calm yourself," Yukari comforted her friend as she let Hitomi sit on the bed. "You want to get some rest?"  
Hitomi shook her head in response. ".......I'm to blame," she whispered.  
"What?" Yukari sat beside her. "What do you mean?"  
"The future...." Hitomi's voice was so small and rough that Yukari had to lean closer to hear. "....Van...."  
"What's wrong, Hitomi? You can tell me. What about Van?"  
"All this time I didn't want to believe that I had a Curse...I do have one, Yukari. It's because I'm such an idiot into believing that...everyone can't be truly evil."  
"You actually believe that guy that you're cursed and you made all of their problems appear? No! You shouldn't listen to what they say. You're not cursed. You've done nothing wrong to them. And besides, didn't you do a lot for this planet?"  
"But what if they're right? What if I will be the one that brings 'Fate's Death' like the scripture said? What does it mean? Does it mean that because of me people will die and Gaia will be destroyed?"  
"No one really knows. All I'm sure of is that you must've been brought here to help." Yukari saw Hitomi's green eyes lowered on the ground; None of what she had been saying comforted her. "Look...I don't know anything about this planet, the future they predict or why they think you're cursed. But I do know that you didn't risk leaving Earth and your family, and going straight into danger for nothing."  
"I saw it, Yukari. I saw that what I've believe all along is wrong."  
"Saw what?"  
"It's because of me that Blayde...he..." She choked on the last words from the tears flowing from her eyes. "I guess Van only wanted to protect me, but....because I didn't want him to hurt Blayde, I stopped him. Or I will stop him."  
"No way! That's just a silly prediction. I know you have a knack for predicting accurate futures, but it can still be prevented, right?"  
"So what should I do? Let Van kill him, and end it that way? Is that what I have to do to save Van and this world? I can't just do that. It's...it's not right! Not now when I know why he's doing this. He was a good man, but because of The Power of Atlantis his love and his homeland was destroyed. I understand now. He thinks this 'Key,' whatever it is, has the power to destroy cities, maybe even worlds!"  
"What do you suppose this Key is, Hitomi?"  
"I don't know. I think it has something to do with strong emotions that my Grandmother and Van's mother once told me about."  
"I don't get it. If he wants to prevent a world from getting destroyed, why does he want to kill people and cities?"  
"I don't think he wants to help the world. I think he just wants to destroy The Key. It's like killing doesn't mean anything to him anymore."  
From then on, neither of them spoke any words. They sat together while thinking of the perilous road they must take ahead, and the grievous future that may or may not happen. Whatever outcome Hitomi could think of, it seemed impossible that no one will die in the end.  
  
---------------  
  
While Mr. Avean left to converse with the guards at the main gates, Van felt the need to pace around the hallways of the castle. After hearing from Allen that Yukari found Hitomi unconscious in the garden, he felt restless and worried. His first thought was to go into the room, and make sure that she was all right, but something nagged him to stop and rethink. After the way Allen described it, it appeared that she was traumatized by a vision that came to her while she was walking outside. Van was leaning on the wall across the door when he saw Yukari quietly walk out of the room.   
"How is she?" he asked Yukari.  
"She's doing okay, but she's blaming herself for something really bad," Yukari replied darkly. "She's still thinking of what to do with Blayde."  
"I still don't understand why he wants the Key and what he plans to do once he gets it. Whatever it is, he called it 'the link to the two worlds'." Van gripped the handle of his sword angrily.__ I don't really care what he wants. He has to be stopped before he hurts anyone else.  
Yukari saw Van's tenseness and temper while he glanced at his sword. "You don't know how horribly worried that girl is for you, " she said with a scolding tone. "You shouldn't run off and fight anyone dangerous...like the enemy for example."  
"He's going to attack again. I'm sure of it!"  
"There's other people fighting him besides you, y'know." Yukari sighed and shook her head. "Wow! You're as stubborn and thick-headed as she described you to be. Anyway, if you ask me I think we should just stay here for a while and think of something to do. Hitomi told me she'll stay in there for a while to be alone. Why don't you sit down and relax for a while, instead of pacing around the whole castle?"  
Van stared at her oddly and asked, "How did you know I was pacing?"  
"I've seen other boyfriends do that when they get worried about their girl," she said with a playful wink. "Hitomi's a tough gal--if she really tries. She'll be fine." Yukari gave Van a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and walked away.  
Van turned his attention to the door once again, while his thoughts were buried deep into his dark hatred for the enemy. The hatred he felt so strongly for Blayde made sure he had no doubt that he would come back again to bring harm to Fanelia. He knew that he wouldn't stop at slaughtering a whole kingdom. Soon afterwards, his reign of terror would devour the entire planet. But his main concern was for Hitomi at the moment for her reluctance to accept Blayde as a foe would prove to be a grave mistake, if the enemy and his jagged swords got the chance to meet her again. He ignored Yukari's friendly advice, and began wandering through the many pathways and stairwells once more. He had no particular destination in mind; he simply felt less aggravated when his body was not dormant in one place too long. With the guards outside making sure no angry mob got through the main doors, the castle echoed with his footsteps falling on the smooth floor.  
His wandering stopped at the far front of the throne room. Beyond his father's throne, a huge symbol of Fanelia was hung on the wall. Although the memory was vague, he remembered of a time when he was a young child staring at the symbol on the wall. A time when his father had just fought war against another nation to protect their kingdom. A time when he was still alive as he laughed heartily at a young prince's ever-growing curiosity.  
  
--------------  
  
"My son, you've asked me the entire history of this room in less than a day," he said while Van sat on his lap. "I am guessing you're not done with the inquires yet."  
"Tell me again about the symbol of Fanelia, Father!" Van pointed his little fingers eagerly at the proud engraving up above them.  
Goau patted his child's head; while laughing in between he said, "Alright, alright. But your mother will be most displeased if you don't go to bed soon."  
Van placed his own little hands on his father's hand that rested lovingly on his head. "I will, Father. I promise."  
Goau carried his son to the center of the throne room. There, they both gazed at the metal carving. With a sense of pride in his voice he said, "That, Van, is the symbol of Fanelia made long ago by the descendants of this land. It was said that long ago humans and dragons lived in harmony. The descendants promised they would forever honour the valour and strength of the great dragons for their protection on this land by engraving the symbol. The symbol represents Fanelia's unity, with not only the dragons, but with ourselves. It also represents the strength, the courage and the pride of Fanelia itself. That's why it was made to be the shape of a dragon's head. For dragons are loyal to their own kind, and has the strength to surpass all creatures."  
A brightness in Van's reddish-brown eyes shone with wonder and amazement at his father's story. "Is that why the same symbol is on your sword, Father?"  
"That's right, my son," he replied with a smile. With his free hand, he held up the sword in its scabbard. Underneath its cover, the golden engraving of the symbol could be seen. "Someday, your brother will bear this sword in his hands. As part of the sacred vow after obtaining the dragenergist, a king's duty is to rule his kingdom nobly and righteously on all his days as the owner of such rank. But above all, he must govern it so that no harm will come to the borders of the land, and justice and peace will always be with his people." Goau saw Van staring back at him with attentive eyes as he paused. "Remember my words to you, Van. The people of Fanelia, and especially the king, must always put the kingdom and its people above all."  
  
--------------  
  
__ The kingdom and its people above all. Van repeated in his mind. The vow he took in the ceremony three years ago was of great importance. Just like the pact he sealed with his own blood with Escaflowne, he could not, under any circumstance, forget his obligation and protection upon Fanelia. __I promise you, Father. I will protect them from this evil. With his eyes still upon the great symbol, he unsheathed his sword. __Give me the strength to stop him.  
At that moment, a loud crash came from the doors at the other end of the room. Van could hear the sound of several men yelling and a blade slashing against the door. For a brief moment, the noises stopped completely. But with a violent crash, the huge doors flew open. Standing under the frame of the doors was Blayde. Behind him, Van saw two of the samurai against the wall on the ground. Their long swords were near them, broken into two pieces. A shrilling noise was coming from his two enormous swords as he easily pointed one of them towards the young man at the center.  
No indication of fear reflected from either of their eyes. A burning hatred rose up from Van as he stood staring back at the man's cold eyes. With their swords placed firmly in their hands, a battle was confirmed without words. A wordless agreement that one of them must be defeated and killed by the hands of the fate sealed upon them.  
  
****Author's Note: Yes! The fifth chapter is finally done *jumps up and down happily* Damn, what a chapter to finish! I'm really sorry it took me so long! I had to go over it several times before I got to this version. Not to mention some writer's block here and there to make it worse. How long did it took me to finish this one, I wonder....*ahem* Let's just say a waaay long time, okie? It takes a while to get the basic logic down, then figuring out the plot step by step, y'know? And yes, another cliffhanger ending. The last part about Fanelia's symbol and Van's flashback about his father I just made up. Nothing was ever said in the series about the symbol so I made an explanation about it. I hoped that made sense. I think it's a logical theory of what the symbol stands for. And I think it really does look like Escaflowne's dragon head. Don't you think so too? Anyway, please read and tell what me what you thought about it!  
  
__To be continued...


	6. Sacrifice

**Power of Emotions**  
by: Cathy-chan  
  
****Chapter 6: Sacrifice  
  
  
A terrifyingly ominous, but familiar, feeling came into Hitomi as her special powers told her of fate's darkness crawling its way into the building surrounding her. In a split second her mind's eye caught sight of a battle between two young men in the midst of a dark, spacious room. Dimly, a metal emblem on the wall could be seen behind the warring men. The future, which she saw and dreaded, was revealing itself. She hesitated to leave the room for it seemed, in her recent vision, that she was the cause of Van's death. Turning her eyes to the window, she saw no comforting scene. Up above the dark, cloudy sky was a mass of black dots, like insects, gradually getting larger to appear as black giants. Quickly, she turned to pry her eyes away from the red shroud of fire covering the kingdom.  
"...They're all coming true...!" Hitomi whispered hoarsely. "...What am I suppose to do?!" With one hand, she clutched the fabric around her chest, as if trying to ask her fast beating heart. "...Tell me!"  
__No one can decide the path for you, Hitomi. You must decide on your own. You came to Gaia for a purpose. Now you must take action.  
Hitomi lifted her eyes to the saddened face of her grandmother. Her attire was dull and gray; remorse could be seen in her pale, transparent green eyes.  
__It is not hard to see the kind, young Atlantean man locked inside the dark Blayde. However, fate is not kind to those who play with the forbidden. His fate was sealed long ago. Just like his kind, he is doomed to die.  
"So...there's nothing I can do!?"  
__ That...I do not know, child. All I do know is that The Key will bring fate to its knees and surrender Gaia's destiny.  
"Grandmother...I don't want to harm Blayde. But I'm worried about Van. I don't want him to get hurt."  
To Hitomi, it looked as if her grandmother's dull appearance became brighter; a very small, yet apparent, smile could be seen on her face. __Then if that is what you wish, go to him. Do you love Van?  
Hitomi closed her eyes and nodded. "With all of my heart!"  
__ Then that is all you need to know. Do no forget, Hitomi: The power of emotions can transcend anything...worlds, powerful sorcery, wars, swords...Even fate itself... Slowly, the vague figure of Hitomi's grandmother began to disappear. Hitomi desperately reached out to catch her disappearing form.  
"Wait! I want to know what The Key is! I'm still--" Her hands only touched the thin air as she finished her cry to the spirit. "--lost...!"  
Without warning, one of the black guymelefs had crashed onto the windows overlooking the kingdom. She crouched on the ground to protected her body from shards of sharp glass. More of the fire had spread its way to rooftops. It was getting closer to the castle walls every moment one of the dark, floating ships spout fire out of their weapons.  
Outside, she could see Sherazade's flowing, blue cape as it took down numerous black guymelefs. While her terrified eyes stayed focused on the battle below, a young girl wearing a school uniform opened the bedchamber door.  
"Hitomi! The castle's going to get burned. We have to leave!" Yukari hurriedly grab Hitomi's stiff body away from the window. "Didn't you hear what I just said?" she asked her best friend's motionless form. It didn't seem as if Hitomi noticed Yukari's hand waving before her. Yukari wondered if the sight of seeing the cataclysm outside had stiffened her friend from fear.  
However Hitomi wasn't paralyzed from fear at all; her green eyes were mindlessly focused on the ground while she was deep in distant thought. Hitomi knew of Yukari shaking and tugging her arm, yet her thoughts were elsewhere. Seeing her grandmother's spirit briefly left her with no answer, and two perilous paths with regretful outcomes. Will she do as her heart told her, and be at Van's side...or heed her recent vision, and let Van kill Blayde? Just when her hopes were diminishing, she remembered the brightness of her grandmother's eyes when she admitted to herself that she loved Van with all of her heart. Not only that, she knew of an entity so powerful that it could surpass all hurdles: "...The power of emotions..." she repeated to herself slowly.  
Yukari became silent from puzzlement. "...Huh?" She then began pondering if Hitomi had gone insane for her best friend still had her eyes wide open, but in it was a sudden look of fear replaced by determination and vivacity.  
"I'm going to try!" Hitomi said loudly.  
"What? What is going on with you, Hitomi? There's a big war outside. Allen said we should run away from the battle as far as we can like everyone else in Fanelia."  
There was a reassuring smile on Hitomi's face as she shook her head. "No, I can't leave. I have to go to Van. Yukari, make sure to get out of the castle."  
__ Oh man, my best friend has lost her marbles! Yukari thought. "And what about you!? You don't even know where Van is!"  
"I do know where he is. Or rather where he and Blayde are. I recognize where they are in the castle." Immediately, she went off into a sprint to the halls of the castle.  
"Hitomi! Wait!" Yukari shouted after her.  
"Tell Allen that I'll be fine. Take care of yourself out there, Yukari!" Hitomi yelled back while she ran off to the distance.  
"You can't just run off. Hitomi!" Her friend was already too far away for her to hear. Yukari stood in silence for a moment as she tried to make sense of her friend's sudden actions. As she stood there, smoke was drifting through the castle walls. Because of the suffocating smoke, Yukari took Hitomi's advice and departed from the building. As she ran, her worries grew. __I hope you know what you're doing.  
  
--------------  
  
Meanwhile, Van was using all of his strength and skill to overcome Blayde's mighty swords and stronger physique. Blayde's sharp reaction, and quick counterattacks told Van that he was dealing with no amateur. Because of his enemy's double sword advantage, he had been fighting back with a cut on the leg and hand, and bruised arms. Even so, his sense of honour and duty to protect gave him strength and conviction to keep his feet planted on the ground.  
Blayde saw the boldness in Van's eyes, and glanced at him with no emotion. "Do you expect to defend yourself with that frail samurai sword, King of Fanelia?"  
Breathing heavily from exhaustion, Van clutched his sword with both hands while saying, "I'll do more than that! I swear to you upon my sword that I will defeat you!" With a strong cry, he lunged forward with every ounce of strength left in his body.  
At first Blayde blocked his sword with ease, but by each slash of Van's long sword, he was amazed to see the young king become quicker and stronger. At last, Van's sword had cut into Blayde's left forehand. The dark warrior dropped the sword in his hand, and fell heavily on one knee. Without even just a hint of skepticism, Van pointed his sword at his opponents neck; leaving Blayde with no chance to regain control of the battle.  
"You are stronger than I had perceived you, King." A demonic smile crept into Blayde's face. "Will you kill me now? Even if you do succeed in ending my life, you will not be able to stop the black guymelefs or the ships invading your kingdom. They are no longer under my control. Soon, they will devour Fanelia with fire and blood until nothing is left."  
To Van's surprise, his enemy's tone of voice didn't sound threatening or filled with anger. Instead, a tone of resignation and despair rose from each word. While willingly surrendering himself to the sword's blade, he dropped the last sword.  
Van was confused, but still angry as he asked, "So that's it? Why are you giving up so easily?"  
Blayde smirked and said softly, "As the decades, then eons passed by and grew longer, I have realized that my immortality made by sorcery has been nothing but a means to try and stop the inevitable...It was also a curse. Because of our-- my mistake, Atlanteans are destined to die. I have been seeking a means to destroy The Key, to find some kind of vengeance for the death of my people. But in reality, you cannot destroy something so strong and vast, yet so unstable." Without any sign of fear, he stared straight into Van's eyes. "End it now, King. Do it or I will retaliate then you will be killed instead."  
Despite the great hatred he felt earlier, he couldn't bring his sword to go forward. He was never taught to kill without remorse, and truthfully, Blayde's sudden submission had left him to waver in regards to killing the dark, red-eyed enemy. Van's hands slightly shook while the tip of the sword hovered deathly close to Blayde's neck.  
Just as the sword touched Blayde's skin, the large door at the front of the throne room flew open. The two men saw Hitomi running towards them. She stopped beside Van. A feeling of hesitation came to her, but eventually she approached Blayde saying, "It doesn't have to be this way. Just stop being our enemy, and you can live."  
Blayde paused to thoughtfully stare at her, then said, "You're wrong. I cannot easily do that. As long as you or the Fanelian King hold The Key, I cannot let you live."  
Hitomi paused to look at Van for a moment. "We....hold the key?"  
"What do you mean by that?" Van asked.  
Slowly, but with very smooth movement, he took out the white stone. He held it up towards Van and Hitomi. Instantaneously, the stone began to glow brightly. So bright that it illuminated all the shadowed corners of the room. It only started getting dimmer once Blayde moved it away.  
"I see that The Key only exists as two entities formed into one," Blayde said as he clasped the white stone tightly in his palm.  
With a saddened expression, Hitomi walked closer to him. "You must feel really responsible for what happened to Atlantis. In order to hate this Key so badly."  
"It is not a question of hate. Something so strong should not exist in Gaia. I am preventing a crisis that happened in my land from repeating itself."  
"You don't have to do this."  
"No, I understand that I am fated to end my life this way. What I do not understand is you. You had the choice to not get involved in Gaia's turmoil. You could have stayed in the Mystic Moon, never to be bothered or harmed again."  
Hitomi nodded. "You're right. I could've done that and saved myself a lot of trouble." With a smile upon her lips she continued. "But I can't abandon the people I know and love in this world...." A small hint of red came to Hitomi's cheeks. "...And most of all, I can't just abadon Van either. I want to protect him most of all, somehow."  
It was obvious that Blayde, and especially Van, found Hitomi's last comment to be very surprising. Anyone could see Van's attention solely focused on her as he tried to hide his face. For he, also, had small hint of red on his cheeks.  
Unexpectedly, Blayde appeared to be curious and mindful as he said, "So you would go to a dangerous world such as Gaia...for him?"  
"Yes," she said in a calm voice. She turned to find Van staring back at her. His reddish-brown eyes were hard to see underneath a veil of shadows, but she could see a familiar emotion in them. It was the same emotion she saw three years ago when they finally broke free of the misunderstandings. An emotion that needed no promises or words to say he felt the same for her. "...I would go anywhere or do anything for him."  
While the couple's attention were on each other, Blayde noticed Van's grip on his sword was loose. Blayde knew how easy it would be to snatch back his one of the swords, and end his eternal vengeance on The Key. __How foolish, he thought acidly. __If only these fools could see that The Key is distracting them. You will see that your devotion to him will be your undoing. With quick movements, he reached for the sword closest to him, and pushed Hitomi harshly to one side.   
Hitomi's shoulder ached as it slammed on the ground. Feeling a sense of horrible dread and pain, she screamed as she watched Blayde's mighty sword turn into a diagonal blur. The high pitched sound from his sword cutting through the air echoed in the dark room. Immediately after was the sound of a piece of Van's sword falling noisily on the floor. Only the hilt and part of the blade was left in Van's hands. The jagged sword was too fast for Van to defend himself. Hitomi watched in dismay as the sharp metal came in contact with his chest. Faster than the eye, a line was ripped through his shirt, then a red so dark and thick flowed out from the line. Hitomi saw the metal dripping with red, while Van's body fell silently on the floor. Once again she screamed in agony; the pain in her heart felt as if it, too, had a deep cut. The real hot tears streaming down from her green eyes, the real precious blood stained on the floor and on her love's chest,....and the real destiny that was forced to them by fate. It wasn't a dream or an illusion. It was reality.  
  
__To be continued....  
  
Author's Note: *phew* Talk about some vivid descriptions in the end. And see? It says 'to be continued' and not 'the end.' You think I'd end it like that? No way! You'll see what I have in the store for Chapter 7. Which will be the last chapter, and the epilogue. Again, it took a long while to finish. Please excuse me for taking so long. I wanted to make sure it's not too boring, and had some twists. Ah, the usual suspenseful cliffhanger. ^.^ Anyway, don't forget to tell me what you think about it, okie!? I always appreciate some feedback. Thank you!


	7. Fate's Death

**Power of Emotions**  
by: Cathy-chan  
  
**Chapter 7: Fate's Death**  
  
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**Part I: Eternal Key**  
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"Van!!!" No matter how hard she willed herself not to look helplessly at Van's unmoving body, her eyes still found their way to the blood stained center of the room. Between Hitomi and Van stood Blayde, with his back now turned away from what he had just done to the young king. When Hitomi had the chance to look at the red-eyed man, she couldn't see any emotions in them. All she saw was an unliving being who was governed by what he believed was the righteous path. Slowly, she crawled beside her love. The tears kept falling as she made an effort to lie Van's head on lap.  
Behind her, Hitomi heard the sound of Blayde's sword drop from his hands. "It is now over. The Key is no more," Blayde uttered.  
Hitomi could hear Blayde approach from behind her. She could feel he was close by, but she couldn't care if such a cruel man was there. The only thing she could think about was how could anyone she loved so deeply be taken away from her so easily. Softly she let her hands feel Van's face. "No...you can't be--!" Hitomi whispered to him. "I wanted so much to be with you...and now you're--!" Gradually, her weeping became stronger. She held him tightly in her arms. The side of her face pressed on his as she said, "...Don't go! Please don't go! Y-You can't! I love you!!"  
"Van...?" Hitomi thought her wishful thinking had made her imagine a small movement...   
  
No one had noticed before that the white stone was abandoned on the floor. As Blayde found it and placed it on his hand, it suddenly emitted a powerful bright light. It became brighter than ever before. The light was so strong that Blayde felt as if he was absorbed into another world only filled with white. Everything was completely white except himself. Navy blue feathers were starting to fill the white void as a human figure could be seen far away. The figure came closer until Blayde recognized that it was a beautiful woman. Her eyes were the colour of fresh violets on a spring day, and her whitish blue hair flowed gently behind her.  
Blayde spoke of a name so old, but not forgotten to him. "...Laria..."  
She smiled gently and sadly to him as she approached. Her smile reminded him of a pain he felt when he lost his heart entirely. The feeling that struck him when he watched Atlantis and Laria burn into ashes. Her creamy pale hands were graceful as she lifted them up towards him. "Where are you, Andreus?"  
He looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"  
She stared directly at his eyes with sorrow. She said once again, "Where are you? You're lost, but you don't want anyone -not even yourself- to find you. Why?"  
"I am not lost. My mission is over. My immortality will disappear."  
"Is that what you've been believing all of this time? That you've become immortal because of your mission to destroy The Key?"  
"What else is there? Fate has chosen me to destroy such a powerful entity. For centuries I did not stop until I have killed the source of The Key. I realized that if either the girl from the Mystic Moon or the King of Fanelia be eliminated, then The Key will be no more. Hence, I will die. Just as the prophet from my childhood told me." Blayde spoke clearly and steadily as if he was proving a very precise, scientific theory. Even when he told her of his imminent death, he still spoke with no sentiment.  
"You've been living your life for nothing but an evil task to fulfill. Your mind may say that what you've done to the King of Fanelia and to the girl will stop all of your torment. You even went as far as wiping out nations just to find The Key. What you've done to Freid, Fanelia...and others who gave their lives to protect their home...All of it just to make your pain go away?"  
"Keeping them apart did not work, demanding for the pendant did not work. I simply used another plan. I did not expect for it to disappear so easily with just one death. Killing does not relieve my pain...nor does killing worsen it." He stopped and looked upon Laria's out-stretched hands, then to his own. It was strange how his hands appeared menacing, and covered with a red only he could see. "I do not feel anything."  
Blayde was shocked to see Laria place her hands on his so lovingly. "I don't believe that. I know you're still in there. Not only I but the girl, Hitomi Kanzaki, believed it too. You say The Key has disappeared, it hasn't at all. For you see anyone, even a spirit such as I, can hold The Key." She lifted one of her hands up to point a finger at his chest. "And somewhere in there, you have it too." She stepped a bit closer while, gently, her white wings were revealing themselves behind her. When only an inch was between them, she rested her hands on his face and said, "It's not possible to destroy The Key inside anyone. Especially not the ones inside the two people whose love is eternal. I have not given up on finding you, and I do not hold you responsible for what happened to Atlantis. Let fate die. If you don't your entire soul will vanish. Please, don't die for a prophecy. Just find yourself and rest with me, Andreus."  
The last few words touched a living being inside of the harsh Blayde that had not been awoken in countless years. As Blayde stared deeply into Laria's eyes, his eyes began to change colour. Like the colour of the sky during sunrise as the day begins. It was as if someone inside of him was returning to the world. His wings, as well, were turning from a navy blue, to a pure white. Instead of his sadness that was buried deep within his eyes, honest emotions were apparent through his face. "Yes, it's time for me to rest...but there's one more task I must finish. I know I cannot atone for such evil as what I've done. I must let Fate's Death conquer Gaia. I am going to fulfill the rest of the prophecy written in the scriptures, but with my own ending."  
Laria closed her eyes and nodded an agreement. Along with the surrounding white, she began to float away from him. "Until then...I will be waiting for you here."  
  
Hitomi was not imagining things at all. Faintly, she could feel the gentle air of Van's breath tap lightly on the side of her cheek. Slowly, but anxiously, she lifted her head up to look at the young man lying on her lap. There was life inside Van's body as she saw him move his hands. While Van's eyes began to open, Hitomi inspected Van's injury. It appeared that the sword did not plunge into his chest. She didn't realize before that Van was able to dodge back from the blade so that only the section below his shoulder had a deep cut. The wound was serious, but he was able to speak clearly. "...I'm sorry...I don't think I've ever told you..."  
Hitomi hadn't stopped weeping, but this time her tears were accompanied with a joyous smile. "T-Told me what...?" she said shakily. Affectionately, she pushed Van's long strands of hair away from his eyes.  
"...That I love you too..." he answered in a soft whisper.  
"Van!" She gave him a kiss on the lips, and smiled. "I know you do. Oh, Van! I thought I've lost you! I was so scared! For a moment, I thought I was going to be alone if you leave me."  
"You will never be alone. As long as The Key...The power of your emotions...lives on as one. It is eternal," a familiar voice told them. They both saw a man walk up to them. For certain it was Blayde, but somehow instead of an endless creature, it was a living Atlantean with blue eyes that they were beholding. His feelings of sympathy were very obvious on his eyes and face. He held no pair of jagged swords in his hands, and white wings had sprout out of his back. "I understand that no apology I can say to you will forgive what I've done. I now understand that it wasn't The Key's fault that The Power of Atlantis turned against us. It was foolish to think any mortal can ever create utopia through machinery and sorcery. I will stop the war that I've created with my own hands." With that, he turned briskly to the huge doors. Once he was in front of the doors he paused, then he looked directly at Hitomi and said, "...Thank you...for believing."  
From an opening in a broken window, he flew outside and into his winged guymelef. Now that they had gone berserk, there was no way to call them back. However, since he built the cybernetic guymelefs with his own alchemy and engineering, he knew that a strong opponent would automatically attract the entire fleet on one single enemy. And so with that in mind, he started attacking a group of them at a time, until all of them recognized him as a powerful enemy. After seeing that the fleet was focused on him, he led them up quickly to the sky. According to the knowledge he had from building the black giants, he knew that his guymelef would rupture due to the force of an extremely fast speed. Then the chemicals inside the machinery would react, and a large explosion would occur. The explosion would be large enough to annihilate the army of giants. As he waited for the guymelef to climb higher, he began uttering words. Slowly and in a rhythmic beat, he chanted his own conclusion of the written prophecy:  
  
"A Red Vision will appear,   
And from the Blue Planet   
The One will come.   
With her, a second.   
From The One,   
Darkness will overcome Gaia,   
The Sacrifice will follow.   
With The One,   
Fate's Death will conquer all  
  
And from this Death,  
The Eternal Key  
Will awaken Destiny's new path  
By Gaia's will  
  
The Sacrifice,  
The Unliving Heart,  
The Endless Blade,  
Will find rest and peace  
  
Thus Ends The Prophecy."  
  
Faster and faster he ascended the guymelef into Gaia's outer atmosphere. The tremors became stronger, and he could feel the gravity forced upon him. He closed his eyes and saw a white land far away where a beautiful angel smiled serenely.  
With an effort, Andreus smiled back. "Laria..."  
Hitomi helped Van walk to the broken window pass the throne room's double doors to watch a large wave of energy erupt high up in the sky. The soldiers and samurai stood still as they saw the end of the entire dark fleet in one instant. When the loud boom of the explosion finally ceased, The Fanelian's voices could be heard rising in joy and chants of victory amongst the fallen streets of their kingdom. Below the windows where Van and Hitomi looked out to, Yukari and Allen waved to them happily. As the people worked side by side to destroy the flames, a clear and sunny sky was unveiled through the smoke. Everywhere a head turned, voices of people were rejoicing as they ran to their loved ones. Peacefully, Van and Hitomi smiled as they held each other's hand. Alas the battle had ended.  
  
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**Part II: Is This Farewell?**  
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It had been a week since Blayde's death. In honour of the men that had died in the battle, they were all buried under a monument in the forest behind the castle. On top of the monument was a stone dragon holding a sword with its head pointing upwards. Underneath the statue was inscribed: "Here lies the valiant souls that fought for our kingdom. With their honour and sacrifice, we will begin a new era for Gaia." As if guarding the graveyard, Escaflowne knelt peacefully beside it.  
Hitomi and Yukari stood beside Van as he stood quietly in front of their graveyard. Hitomi felt a familiar and sad emotion as Van turned around. She knew that the same scenario played itself three years ago when she left Gaia. The sadness was very strong as she realized that the scenario might end the same way yet again. For a while, Van stood staring back at her. Both of them knew what would come after the crisis with Blayde was over. As Hitomi shared the same sadness in her eyes as Van's, it seemed to her as if even The Key could not keep two people from two different worlds together. The serene week that had passed by beforehand gave them time to think about their next actions. Or perhaps it wasn't a time to think at all,....but a time to say their good-byes. Finally, Van broke the silence and said, "...Your family probably misses you back at your own world."  
Hitomi nodded. It was difficult for her to speak while trying to hide her tears. "It'll be pretty hard to explain to them where I've been. I'm sure it's the same case with Yukari's family too." She made a false laugh and turned to her friend. "Don't you think so, Yukari?"  
Yukari's response was surprising to say the least. Hitomi had expected her friend to be cheerful and silly during the conversation, but Yukari almost seemed encompassed by a deep and sad thought. Without saying anything back, she grabbed Hitomi's shoulder. While Hitomi asked her questions, Yukari dragged her away from Van without any reply. At last when it was far enough for the two of them to speak privately, she began speaking in a low tone. "Hitomi, we need to talk."  
"H-Huh? What's up with you? You're freaking me out, Yukari!"  
Yukari slowly leaned closer to her friend and said, "Are you sure about this?"  
"S-Sure about what?"  
As Yukari whispered back she held her hand. "About leaving, I mean."  
"H-How did you know...?" Hitomi's voice was beginning to shake a little.  
Almost instantly Yukari returned to her cheerful self. "Silly! I know how you're feeling right now. I'm your best-friend, remember? I know you're planning on leaving him again as soon as you're through talking. You two looked so dark depressed that any fool could see what was going on. Not to mention you've been giving this a lot of thought over the past few days....Well? Am I right?"  
Hitomi's voice was almost inaudible as she looked down on her hands. "Yeah...You're right. What else am I suppose to do? He's from Gaia and I'm from Earth. It's just...I mean," she paused as she tried to find the right words, "I badly want to be with him, but...my family...my life back in Earth..."  
"You don't sound happier when you say that. C'mon, Hitomi! Ever since you came back from that spooky time you disappeared, you've been acting very weird. For the entire time we were in high school, you didn't check one guy out." She laughed, loud and vibrant. "Now that's what really scared me!"  
"...Then...what should I do then?"  
While Yukari spoke, she gazed up at their home planet. "Having a distant relationship with Amano has taught me lotsa things. For one thing...It sucks to be in a distant relationship with someone! No seeing the guy in person, no way to have any kind of dates what so ever...Now you two have it even waaay worse! Two different planets, girl! I can really tell you love this guy. Your...'Key'...saved an entire planet! Wow! How many people can say that about their love life?"  
Yukari became even more cheerful as she saw her friend's face lift up with a smile upon it. With a pretended and dramatic cough, she continued. "All I'm saying, Hitomi, is that if you two are really than into each other then...why keep each other apart?"  
The prospect of staying seemed to be in favour of Hitomi as she smiled. However, her eyes focused back to her hands. "But...what would my family think? That I just disappeared somewhere to never come back?"  
"Nah! I don't think so. Seeing how your guy was able to go back and forth from both worlds with just thinking about it, I say you'll see them again." Yukari patted her back energetically. "Besides...with him being still injured an' all...I'm pretty sure you could...look after him, right?"  
Hitomi found it odd that Yukari would mention Van's injury as a means to stay in Gaia. She thought that Yukari of all people would convince her to leave Gaia so Hitomi could live her life on Earth. Despite that fact, Hitomi found it odd, but not surprising. For she knew how thoughtful her friend could be. The thought of never leaving Van crossed her mind more than once over the past week. A desire, so powerful and bewitching, made her wish that both of them originated from the same planet. Ever since she realized her feelings for Van, she thought of how wonderful it would have been if she stayed with him for those three years they were apart. Since then, she dreamed of how they would spend their days together. To, not only be together spiritually, but to be together physically as well. After a long while, Hitomi replied. "I guess...It's not like I was enjoying college. One of my new instructors a big jerk...But...my mother, father and little brother? What kind of excuse are you going to come up with?"  
Yukari gave her a sheepish grin, and shrugged. "Uh...That you've found true love? If I were your mom, I would be happy for you!"  
After looking at Yukari's sheepish grin, Hitomi couldn't help but laugh. She shook her heard and said, "I...want you to give this to them then." From her jacket she fetched out a folded piece of paper. It was addressed to her family. "I want you to give this to them. I wrote it yesterday, and...I didn't know whether I needed it or not. And please tell them that..." For a brief moment she glanced back at Van. "...that I'm very happy, and that I will see them again one day."  
Yukari was almost to the point of crying as she hugged her long time friend. "Right...I'm going to miss you, Hitomi. And I thought Kamakura and Tokyo were far away!" While still holding on to each other they laughed. "I'm happy for ya, Hitomi. You guys are meant for each other, and I don't need your Tarot Cards to figure that out."  
Hitomi watched as a bright column of light surrounded Yukari. She held on until the light started lifting Yukari up towards the sky. For just a small fraction of a moment she felt doubt on her future ahead. What will now become of her life in Gaia? Will she truly see her family again? But her doubts were cast aside as soon as she remembered who she would spending the days with her forever. After seeing the column of light take Yukari away to the blue planet, she walked back to where Van was.  
"...Hitomi..." Van uttered. He knew why there was a kind smile and bright eyes upon Hitomi's face. He didn't know what to say at the moment. No words came in his mind, but as Hitomi came closer to him, he realized that there was no need for words. Lovingly he held her tight, letting the time pass by into another afternoon without worry. A sense of belonging that has no hint of uncertainty was felt only between the two of them. The Key would conquer any of the darkness the loomed over them. They will be one...in their hearts...and in their destiny's eyes...as two angels gaze upon them.  
  
****The End  
  
**Author's Note:** What do you think? Yeah...very mushy ending, but what can I say? I wanted that kind of ending for Van and Hitomi! It seems appropriate to me. Did you figure out what The Key is? Just to make it clear The Key is Love. It's a concept that I think is strongly obvious in the series and in the movie. It may seem like a sad ending for Blayde 'cause he died, but I think it's a happy and noble one. Anyway, don't forget to give me some feedback about the story! And thank you once again! I don't think I could've ever gotten enough inspiration and encouragement without your support!


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